SLIM_SNOOPY

You stillmight be feeling the Eco MOde mentioned by previous members or just the way the auto tranny downshifts. YOu are right not 100% , but at least the brake drag feeling is gone. Def rolls way better than before. When I test drove my Jeep for the first time after de-activation , I had the same feeling,, was like oh oh , its back,,,not ., been driving so long with this stupid feature, it will take a couple drives to forget about the bad expierences of the hill assist feature. Gas mileage should improve,, driving with the brakes off , helps a lot. lol

phantomandy

My understanding is that HSA (Hill Start Assist) and HDC (Hill Decent Control) are two seperate featuers (at least on my 2011).

HSA is disabled either through the steering wheel dance listed above (and in the manual) or by way of the EVIC (Electronic Vehicle Information Center) if your Jeep is equipped with the EVIC. My 2011 Sahara has it, part of the Connectivity Group I believe.

HDC as I understand it is a feature for automatic transmission vehicles. According to my manual (again - a 2011 model, Automatic) this feature is only available when in 4WD LOW and at speeds below 30 MPH.

As a side note. . . I searched the 2010 manual online and didn't find any reference to HDC or Hill Descent Control. My understanding is that this feature is standard on all 2011 Automatic transmission Wranglers (which led me to believe it was an option on previous years). However it appears that it may not have been an option or available in previous model years.

My Jeep has a button on the center switch stack right next to the ESC Off button. I suspect HDC for the previous model years is manual (in other words, careful braking combined with what engine braking is available through the transmission).

Here's the excerpt from the 2011 Wrangler Owners Manual:

Hill Descent Control (HDC) – If Equipped
HDC is only intended for low speed off-road driving.
HDC maintains vehicle speed while descending hills in
off-road driving conditions by applying the brakes when
necessary.

The symbol indicates the status of the Hill
Descent Control (HDC) feature. The lamp will
be on solid when HDC is armed. HDC can only
be armed when the transfer case is in the “4WD
LOW” position and the vehicle speed is less then 30 mph
(48 km/h). If these conditions are not met while attempting
to use the HDC feature, the HDC indicator light will
flash on/off.

When enabled, HDC senses the terrain and activates
when the vehicle is descending a hill. HDC speed may be
adjusted by the driver to suit the driving conditions. The
speed corresponds to the transmission gear selected.

The speeds for HDC are as follows:

1st Gear 1 mph
2nd Gear 2.5 mph
Drive 7.5 mph
Reverse 1 mph

phantomandy

I'll also add to the other posts regarding ECO Mode and HSA.

I turned HSA off the day after I got my 2011 Jeep. I didn't like the 'sticky' feeling when taking off on a hill. The automatic transmission at idle holds the Jeep on the vast majority of slight hills and it just felt weird.

I turned off ECO Mode yesterday due to the 'braking' effect. I had started to get used to it but decided to try a day without it to see if it felt more 'natural'. The Jeep has a more natural feel to me now. I'm all for Traction Control and some of the other features that are there, but ECO Mode just annoyed me. That flashing ECO light in the dash didn't make me feel any better than the 'upshift' arrow on my TJ's did (which of course if you shifted on would leave you lugging you engine and crawling around town).

20JK10

Yes, HSA and HDC are two different things. And HDC has it's own button on the 2011.

SLIM_SNOOPY

I envy your 2011's option regarding the option of shutting the ECO mode off from the dash board computer. ....lol I thought for sure that earlier models could be disabled at the dealer,,,,NOT !!!!! DAMN.!!!!! Anyone else have a different dealer answer or result???

At least I was able to disable the Hill Assist, much better now. Guess I can't have everything ...

Arebee

I had a Subaru back in the late '80s which had HSA, and as soon as you hit the gas, it immediately disengaged. It was really useful. On my 2010 Unlimited 6 speed. I really had to punch it to override the damn thing and it was driving me nuts.

With the help of this thread I disabled the HSA and I'm much happier.

Thanks all!

SLIM_SNOOPY

Glad to help......

Takenithome

This is awesome! Never knew you could disable this until I read it here. Jeep never felt just right and now I know why! I will b disabling mine first thing tomorrow morning! Thanks fellas!

SLIM_SNOOPY

AHHH,, Just another satisfied member,,,lol Seriously, It will make a world of difference, it should also give you better gas mileage, stop the tranny from over-shifting " Gets confussed with the Hill Assist on" and help with not wearing down the brake pads prematurely. You will feel the difference asap. Glad that Chrysler made this a user on/off option. After completing the dis-able, find a hill and when safe , stop on an incline , and let off the break pedal , you immd should feel your Jeep rolling backward, indicating the hill assist is now disabled. I beleive that one of the dash yellow lights are suppose to flash like 3 or 5 times. THe manual indicates this in the dis-able process. The same instructions are used to re-enable it if you ever wanted to.

Good Luck

SLIM

Watercop

Disabled mine ..... MUCH better. Now I know why it wouldn't roll out of the garage in N like all the rest of my vehicles ...jeeps included. Thanks for the insight !!